Making it Work: Federal Agency Recruiting Summit

Date: October 4, 2006
Location: Washington, D.C.

On the Bravo network television show “Project Runway,” contestants compete for a chance to break into the exclusive fashion industry. Featured designers must stand out among their competitors to win the approval of the show’s highly critical judges. Given limited resources, time constraints, and seemingly impossible goals, entrants must simply “make it work.”

Like the show’s competitors, federal recruiters face tough audiences with zero tolerance for excuses. College students looking for jobs don’t want to hear why they don’t know about specific job vacancies, why they don’t receive updates on their application status, or why hiring decisions aren’t timely. The students simply don’t have the patience for these problems. If the federal government doesn’t meet their needs, other employers will. Despite budget constraints and other obstacles, federal recruiters must also simply “make it work.” The question is: “How?”

On October 4, with support from CareerBuilder.com, the Partnership for Public Service sponsored a Federal Agency Recruiting Summit to discuss just that—how to make it work. More than 100 attendees, largely senior human resources officials—such as Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO), Deputy CHCOs, and HR Directors representing about 50 federal agencies—gathered to learn current best practices and discuss how they can better compete for talent. Through a combination of plenary sessions and interactive workshops, attendees heard from other leaders in recruiting and shared concerns common across agencies.

Dan Blair, Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), offered an update on new trends in the federal workplace, including “career patterns,” which outlines staffing models with greater relevance for today’s students. A panel discussion with recent hires and students revealed the applicant perspective, illuminating many shortcomings in our current system. Representatives from McKinsey & Company and Teach for America profiled the “competition,” sharing core principles of recruiting in the private industry and the non-profit sector. To help agencies improve their hiring processes, attendees learned about the new Hiring Toolkit Web site, a joint project of OPM and the Partnership that exhibits various successful tools and techniques.

This Summit is the first in a series of events over the coming year—including workshops, presentations, and working groups—that will culminate in the National Career Services Conference in May 2007. Together, these events foster a collaborative approach for agencies to share information on sustainable, cost-effective ways to attract top talent. When we view the federal government as one brand, we know that we are all in this together, and we will make it work.

To view the Hiring Toolkit, visit www.opm.gov/hiringtoolkit.

 

© 2007 Partnership for Public Service